More Americans Support Legalized Marijuana in the United States, Recreational and Medical Marijuana News Today

byAlex Averin

Americans believe the marijuana use should be legal:

American voters appear more ready than ever to support the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana. This is according to a recent Gallop poll which revealed that a record number of Americans believe that marijuana use should be legal. Momentum is building as more states are passing legislation to legalize cannabis use.

Currently, there are 23 states, as well as the District of Columbia, which have legalized the use of medical marijuana. California was the first to do so in 1996 and many others have followed since that time. Washington, Colorado, Oregon and Alaska have passed laws which legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Many states are taking baby steps towards the decriminalization of marijuana use and the end of its prohibition. As momentum builds in the country for an end to marijuana prohibition, more states are on the verge of passing new laws that permit the use of cannabis in the state.

According to the most recent Gallup poll, marijuana use among adults in the United States has doubled over the last ten years and the number of recreational users in the country is over 20 million. One can deduce that public opinion of cannabis is changing. Views of a menacing drug that induces violence and crime and can cause physical harm are being replaced with views to the contrary. Cannabis is now being used in many states as a medical treatment and produced for responsible state citizens to use in a recreational manner. According to the recent Gallup poll, 58 percent of Americans believe that marijuana use should be legal. As a reference, less than 15 percent of Americans supported the legalization of marijuana in 1970 and only about 25 percent of Americans believed marijuana should be legal in 1990. The trend is positive over the last several decades regarding pro-marijuana opinions according to the Gallup poll data. Given the slope of the data, the opinion that marijuana should be legalized is expected to grow over the next five years. Public opinion is stronger now than ever for marijuana legalization, and this will likely push more political involvement.

Presidential Hopefuls Pulled In:

During a recent Democratic debate, presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders gave verbal support for a legislative measure in Nevada linked to legalized marijuana. Additionally, Hillary Clinton, the leading Democratic presidential hopeful, shared only that more research needed to take place before she would take a stance and support legalized marijuana. It is likely though that if public opinion continues to grow, Hillary may soon have to get off of the fence and take a position.